Spring hinge



1950 c. H. WASSON ET AL SPRING HINGE Filed March 24, 1947 INVENTOR. CLIFFORD H. flqssozv and L w; DZI'AN WEEK? 21 66M. ATTOFNEK Patented Aug. 29, 1950 assignors' to Nik-O-Lok Company, Indianapolis, Ind., a corporation of Indianapolis, Ind.,

Indiana Application March 24, 1947, Serial No. 736,836

1 Claim.

such a fashion that they shall not sag, regardless of the use, and abuse, to which they are subjected. One type of such installation is the doors on public toilet booths. Such doors are subjected to extremely rough usage, frequently amounting to vandalism, and if such a door begins to sag, it will frequentlyfail to latch or look when permitted to swing to closed position under the influence of its spring hinges. Hinges heretofore in use have been so constructed that the parts thereof will bend or tear under abuse. hinges, as heretofore known, have also been subject to other disadvantages, including improper support and anchorage of the springs, which produces binding of the springs if they are wound tightly enough to insure closure and latching under all circumstances. To overcome the above and other disadvantages of known constructions, we have designed a novel spring hinge assembly which lends itself to inexpensive manufacture, simple installation, both in new organizations and in substitution for hinges previously used, and ready repair. I

It is a primary-object then; of the present invention, to provide an improved hinge con-,

struction, overcoming the defects and disadvantages of previously known structures, and introducing new advantages in installation and maintenance.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, our invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claim is not violated.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hinge constructed in accordance with our invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, the operating parts being shown in central longitudinal section;

Fig. 3 is an end view of a spring used in the invention; and

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that I have illustrated an imperforate hinge leaf l0 formed to provide, adjacent one end thereof, a laterally projecting ear ll Such 2 provided with a central threaded perforation l2 therethrough. The outer surface of the ear is shallowly counterbored around the perforation l2, as indicated at l3, for a purpose later to appear.

Adjacent its opposite end, the leaf in is provided with a similar ear l4 formed with a central threaded perforation l5 which is coaxial with the perforation l2. On its outer surface, the ear is shallowly counterbored at IE to correspond with the arrangement of the ear I l.

A second imperforate hinge leaf I1 is formed with a laterally projecting barrel I8 internally bored as at l9, said barrel being adapted to'be arranged between the ears I l and M with its bore coaxial with the perforations l2 and IS.

A journal element 20 is formed with a body 2| snugly receivable in one end of the barrel l8, in the manner illustrated, and said element is provided withv an enlarged head 22 whichoverlies said end of the barrel, the outside diameter of said head being substantially equal to the outside diameter of the barrel and of the ear I.|, said head being interposed between the adjacent end of the barrel and said ear. Axially, the head 22 is formed with an outwardly opening socket 23 in which is preferabl snugly received a bushing 24, which may preferably be made of cadmium- 'barrel l8, and an enlarged head 21 whose outside diameter is substantially equal to that of the barrel I8 and that of the ear It, said head 21 being interposed between the adjacent end of the barrel and said ear. [4. Axially, the head 21 is formed with an outwardly opening socket 28 in which is preferably received a bushing 29 similar to the bushing 24.

A coiled spring 30 is axially positioned within the barrel l8 between the journal elements 20 and 25. The element 20 is formed with an internal projection 3| over which is sleeved one end of the spring 30; and said extension is diametrically slotted, as at 32, to receive an integral tongue 33 at said end of the spring, said tongue being diametrically located with respect to the body of the spring and preferably extending sub stantially throughout a complete diameter of said spring. The element 25 is provided with a similar extension 36, similarly slotted at 35, to receive a tongue 36 parallel but oppositely projecting with respect to the tongue 33 and located at the opposite end of the spring. Because of the location of the tongues 33 and 36, and because of the fact that they extend substantially throughout the'diameters of the spring body, relative rotation between the elements 29 and 25 exerts a purely torsional effect upon the spring Without exerting any' tendency thereupon to cook the spring, or throw any portion thereof out of proper axial-alignment. As aconsequence, there is no tendency for the spring to bow into frictional engagement with the barrel [3. Such, an action, which occurs in many springs of the prior art with which we are familiar, causes a binding between the elements of the hinge to prevent proper smooth action of the hinge when the leaves thereof are relatively moved about the pivotal axis, V a V 'A fiat, spring steel washer 37 is preferably interposed between the head 22 .of the element 20 and the ear H; and a pivot pin SBthre'adedly penetrates the ear I l' and washer Slpan unthreaded extension 39'thereof being seated in :bushing 24, Said pin is provided with an enlarged head! which, when thepin .is properly seated, "bears against .a shake-proof washer 41 whose axial dimension is only slightly greater than the depth of the counterbore l3, and whose external periphery issubstantiallyequivalent to :the peripheryof the counterbore l'3. Similarly, .a washer. 42 like the washer 3 .is interposed betw'eenthe element I25 and the 'ear M, and a pivot pin 43 .threadedly penetrates the ear l4 andis provided with an unthreaded extension 44 seatin the counterbore-lfi. V V V The head 22.of the element 20 isfor-med with a plurality of radial,-.peripherally spaced bores =41 opening through the-exposed external surface of the head 22. Any one of said bores may be selected to r.eceive a stopypin 48 which will bear in the bores 4'5; and when a proper degree of tensionhasbeenapplied .to the spring, the pin 48 'will be entered inthat bore 41 nearest the surface of the .leaf It. When, now, the "element 4 20 is released, the pin 48 will be pressed against the surface of the leaf [0.

It is to be noted that we have stated specifically that the leaves and H are imperforate.

This is for the reason that, in many cases, it is desirable to substitute our new hinge for hinges previously installed. Frequently, .such hinges "are mounted upon glass, tile, =or concre"te walls, 7 and it is highly desirable that anchoring screws holesin the walls upon which the hinges are to :be installed.

We claim-as our invention:

A hinge comprising a pair of leaves, one of 'said leaves *be'ing'provided with a, laterally-projecting rear adjacent each end, said ears being provided with aligned, threaded perforations .therethrough, the. other .ofisaid leaves being provided with a laterally-displaced barrel, -thelbore of said barrel being adapted 'to assume a position be'tween said ears and coaxial therewith, a journal elementfor each end of said'bar-rel, each 'journal element comprising a baseportionrsnug'ly :ingin the bushing 29. 'Thesheadififi of thepin 43 engages-a washer ifi like the washer 4i, seated -receivable in anend of sa'idfbarrel and a head (portion overlyingsuc'h barrel end and having an outside diameter substantially equal to that of said ears, the outer" end of each journal-element being provided with an outwardly-opening-axial socket, a bushing received in each of saidisockets, said bushings ibein'gfcoaxial with said, ear perforations, and a pivot pin "threadedly o-pene- 'trating the perforation of each ear and having an 'unthreaded extension seated in the bushing of the "associated Journalelemen't. I

CLIFFORD HARRISON WESSON. LOUIS DEAN REFERENCES .EITED The-following references are of-ire'cord in th file of this patent:

UNITED "STATES, PATENTS Great Britain Nov. 23,1965 

